Tokyo: The Maldives has offered 600,000 cans of tuna, a specialty product of the island nation in the Indian Ocean, for victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Japanese government officials said.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry has expressed gratitude and is planning to swiftly move to accept the offer from the tiny low-lying country, which has received support from Japan in building embankments and promoting its canning industry.
The Maldivian government had initially planned to provide Japan with around 80,000 cans of tuna, a delicacy chiefly exported to Europe and Southeast Asia, but the volume has been expanded after voices of support were expressed by the private sector, the officials said.
Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed on Tuesday held a memorial service in the capital Male for the disaster victims in Japan, telling Japanese Ambassador Kunio Takahashi that the Maldives wants to do all it can to help Japan, a country that has given unparalleled support.
The Maldives, a country of about 310,000 people threatened by rising sea levels, has itself been a victim of tidal waves in the past.
PTI
